“Tower Master, your status is noble and revered. Although the casualties in Falling Rain Valley are few, it is still a secret realm. If an accident were to occur, we subordinates would bear the blame!”

“Yes, Tower Master, you absolutely must not risk your own safety!”

“There is no need for you to venture into such a dangerous place…”

At the city gate of Cloud Firmament City, on the deck of a massive flying vessel, a group of Wanbao Tower’s stewards and managers were earnestly pleading with their new Tower Master.

Wan Xiaobei intended to personally lead the expedition to the Falling Rain Valley secret realm and even enter it herself. This wasn’t a whim; she had been preparing for this trip for weeks. However, given her exalted status, the upper management of Wanbao Tower was terrified of the potential consequences.

Unfortunately for them, Wan Xiaobei was not easily swayed.

“Ah, didn’t we already agree? I’m just going for some experience. Why are you all going back on your word now?” Wan Xiaobei pouted, her hands on her hips. “Falling Rain Valley has been explored for centuries. What danger could possibly remain? Even if there is, I am a genuine Foundation Establishment Great Perfection expert with a mountain of protective Dharma Treasures. Don’t worry, there won’t be any problems.”

Her expression was one of absolute determination, leaving the stewards exchanging helpless glances.

“Although Tower Master Wan is the Tower Master, she is also a prodigy. Going out for a walk is a good thing.”

A calm voice cut through the clamor.

The stewards frowned, but Wan Xiaobei’s eyes lit up as she turned to the source.

A figure dressed in black robes approached, wearing a bamboo hat that obscured most of his face. His visible features were unremarkable, but the jade plaque hanging from his waist made his identity clear.

“Wind Enshrinee?”

“Fellow Daoist Feng?”

“It’s me,” Gu Xiu nodded.

The crowd’s eyes widened. Even the two Nascent Soul experts from Wanbao Tower stared in astonishment.

Feng Bugui held the prestigious position of a Ninth-Grade Enshrinee, but his cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment level. To protect him on this dangerous journey, the tower’s leadership had insisted three days ago that he use a disguise. They had even prepared high-grade artifacts for the task.

But looking at Gu Xiu now, even their powerful Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate his disguise. It was flawless.

Truly astonishing!

He had killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator while only at Qi Condensation, broken the Azure Dragon Trapping Bamboo formation, halted Golden Core experts with his own arrays, and was acquainted with Nascent Soul powerhouses. Now, he revealed an impenetrable disguise technique.

Just how many secrets did this man hold?

“See? Even Wind Enshrinee says so. You can’t stop me anymore,” Wan Xiaobei giggled triumphantly.

The stewards sighed, defeated. They could only nod in agreement.

“Alright, alright, everyone hurry up and prepare. Once the people from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land arrive, we’ll set off immediately,” Wan Xiaobei ordered, waving them away.

Once they were alone, she turned to Gu Xiu with a conspiratorial grin. “Wind Enshrinee, don’t worry. I am a genuine Foundation Establishment Great Perfection expert. For this trip, I will protect you!”

As the Tower Master of Wanbao Tower, Wan Xiaobei had grown up surrounded by infinite resources. Her strength and artifacts were indeed far beyond those of ordinary cultivators.

However, compared to Gu Xiu, she was still lacking.

Gu Xiu didn’t burst her bubble. He smiled and nodded. “Then, I thank Tower Master Wan for her protection.”

“No problem, no problem! The person I admire most has protected others more than once. My little contribution is not worth mentioning,” Wan Xiaobei chuckled.

“Admired person?” Gu Xiu asked, curious.

Wan Xiaobei nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! I’ve heard his story, and I admire him greatly. I want to make him my life’s goal!”

“Oh?” Gu Xiu raised an eyebrow. “Then Tower Master Wan will surely achieve it.”

“Why don’t you ask me who that person is?”

“Uh… who is it?”

“The Azure Mystic Sword Immortal, Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu!”

“Who?”

“You don’t know?” Wan Xiaobei looked surprised, then nodded in understanding. “I suppose five hundred years have passed, and the Azure Mystic Sacred Land rarely speaks of him. It’s not strange. Let me tell you, that Azure Mystic Sword Immortal was amazing…”

Wan Xiaobei launched into an enthusiastic retelling of Gu Xiu’s legend.

In her words, Gu Xiu was a young hero of unparalleled chivalry. He made friends from all corners of the world and fought enemies on all sides. He sought justice for mortals, pointing his sword at powerful oppressors. He made countless enemies for the sake of his sect, yet still drank joyfully with down-and-out friends.

“What I admire most is not his strength or talent,” Wan Xiaobei said, her eyes shining like stars. “It was his principle: ‘Promises made must be kept!’ It was his determination to give everything for those he protected!”

She recited a line from the old tales with reverence: “With two kicks, he overturned the dusty world; with one shoulder, he bore all the sorrows of past and present!”

“In the future, I want to be like Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu. I want to protect those I care about, without regret, even unto death!”

At that moment, Wan Xiaobei radiated the pure, unblemished vitality of a young prodigy. Her admiration was genuine, her spirit untainted by the harsh realities of the cultivation world.

Gu Xiu was silent for a long moment.

“Being someone like him is not good,” he said quietly.

“Why?”

“It’s tiring.”

“Tiring?”

“Carrying too much… is actually quite tiring.”

“But it’s worth it…” Wan Xiaobei started to argue, but the image of Qin Meran and Shi Siling’s strange reactions flashed through her mind, silencing her.

Gu Xiu had already turned to leave, his voice drifting back to her.

“The affairs of this fleeting life are like a boat on a bitter sea. Drifting and floating, never free. Better to be carefree, soar into the sky, Let go and ride the wind, never looking back at the mortal world.”

Wan Xiaobei stood frozen, staring at Feng Bugui’s retreating back. An inexplicable sadness welled up in her heart.

“That’s not true!” she shook her head vigorously, dispelling the gloom. “A figure like Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu… how could he not be free? He returned from the Forbidden Realm! Right now, he’s probably living a free and unrestrained life in the Azure Mystic Sacred Land!”

Gu Xiu didn’t look back. A faint, bitter smile touched his lips.

He wasn’t wallowing in self-pity. He just didn’t want Wan Xiaobei, whose eyes held such clarity, to be crushed if she ever encountered the same betrayals he had.

This much warning was enough.

Just then, a servant rushed over. “Tower Master, the Immortal Elders from the Azure Mystic Sacred Land have arrived!”

“Finally! Quickly, invite them aboard.” Wan Xiaobei’s eyes lit up. Outsiders might not know about Immortal Venerable Gu Xiu, but surely the disciples of his own sect do?

But the servant hesitated.

“What’s wrong?”

“The Immortal Elders… are unwilling to board.”

“Why?”

“They said… they said this flying vessel is too small.”

Wan Xiaobei frowned.

As the only third-party force allowed into Falling Rain Valley besides the Five Sects and Three Clans, Wanbao Tower paid a heavy price. Every year, they offered resources and provided the transport vessel.

Usually, the Azure Mystic disciples waited at their sect’s gate. This year, due to the reconstruction of their protective formation, they were waiting in Cloud Firmament City.

But… too small?

The warship Wanbao Tower had dispatched could accommodate five hundred people. Its interior was luxurious, fitted with countless formations and restrictions. It burned a massive amount of spirit stones just to fly. It was a vessel fit for royalty.

And they thought it was small?

“How many people did they bring?” Wan Xiaobei asked.

“Three hundred.”

“How many?” Wan Xiaobei blinked, stunned.

By agreement, each sect could only send thirty people. Even with support staff, fifty was the maximum. Three hundred was absurd. What were they planning?

“Even with three hundred, this vessel should be more than enough,” Wan Xiaobei said, confused.

The servant lowered his voice. “Tower Master, I heard… the Azure Mystic Sacred Land intends to change the rules of Falling Rain Valley this year.”

Change the rules?

A bad feeling settled in Wan Xiaobei’s stomach. However, she was decisive. “Change the ship.”

They switched to a thousand-person warship.

“They still say it’s too small,” the servant reported, looking aggrieved.

Wan Xiaobei’s brow twitched. “Change it again!”

They brought out a three-thousand-person vessel. Still not good enough.

It became clear to everyone at Wanbao Tower: the Azure Mystic Sacred Land was picking a fight.

Wan Xiaobei didn’t argue. She simply waved her hand. “Change it again! Keep changing until they are satisfied!”

Finally, when a behemoth capable of carrying five thousand people arrived, the Azure Mystic disciples stopped complaining.

But the relief didn’t last long.

As the Wanbao Tower staff boarded, they were blocked from the upper decks by sneering Azure Mystic disciples.

“You lot from Wanbao Tower, listen up. The top deck is now the resting area for the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. Unrelated personnel are barred.”

“Know your place. You are just boatmen. If we aren’t comfortable, you’ll answer for it!”

“And don’t even think about entering the valley. Your job is to serve us. That is all.”

The Wanbao Tower staff gritted their teeth, fury burning in their chests. Even Wan Xiaobei’s expression turned frosty. They had brought their own experts and managers, yet they were being treated like common servants on their own ship.

But they swallowed their anger. Everyone understood that this year’s Falling Rain Valley expedition was going to be different.

That evening, the massive warship arrived at the entrance of the Falling Rain Valley secret realm.

The representatives of the other Four Sects and Three Clans were already waiting.

The Azure Mystic Sacred Land wasted no time in announcing their change.

“The rule of fixed quotas for the Five Sects and Three Clans,” a representative declared, his voice echoing over the valley. “Starting today… is abolished.”